Mother of Four
by OfficiallyNobody
Summary: AU. What if Splinter hadn't been the only lonely soul wandering the sewers that day? After a teenage runaway with a love of animals and some street fighting skill gets caught up in the world of mutants, she finds herself becoming a mother figure for the boys. After all, how much trouble can four ninja turtles cause?
1. Chapter 1

**SUMMARY: **AU. What if Splinter hadn't been the only lonely soul wandering the sewers that day? After a teenage runaway with a love of animals and some street fighting skill gets caught up in the world of mutants, she finds herself becoming a mother figure for the boys. After all, how much trouble can four ninja turtles cause?

**RATING: **T.

_DISCLAIMER: IF I OWNED TMNT, THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN A LOT MORE FOCUS ON THE SIBLING BONDS. _

**A/N: I'm not sure what exactly prompted this, but I think it was my two-o'clock-in-the-morning musing on how the 2003 series would have been different if the Turtles had someone to be a mother figure in addition to Splinter. At the same time, my brain also wanted to make it so that the Turtles could have someone to teach them a third language, since they obviously know English and probably Japanese too due to Splinter. Thus, Engracia was born. Oh, and translations of the Spanish will be at the bottom.**

**-TMNT-TMNT-TMNT-**

The girl knelt next to the manhole cover, her eyes sweeping the surroundings before lifting it and climbing onto the ladder that lead down into the sewers. Replacing the manhole cover while on the ladder was a bit tricky, but a few MMA classes taken before she had run away had proven that she was naturally agile, even if her endurance had been somewhat lacking.

She fiddled with the the zipper on her black hoodie once she was down in the sewers, one hand almost constantly brushing aside her long and tangled black curls. Dark green eyes absorbed everything they could with the limited amount of light available.

The sound of something shattering followed by a quiet clinking caused her to freeze before peeking around the corner. What she say amazed her. A rat that looked like it had once been someone's pet had righted a coffee can and was proceeding to place four baby turtles inside. When she saw that the turtles had been covered in some kind of glowing green slime, she couldn't help but react and hurried over to where three of them still stood, gently scooping them up with a heart-broken look. "¡Oh, pobre bebés!"

The rat was startled and seemed to have half a mind to flee, but for some reason seemed transfixed by the baby turtles. The girl smiled sadly at the rat as she carefully used a bandana she had had tucked away in one of her pockets to clean the turtles off with one hand, reaching out towards the rat with the other. "Shh, it's ok, Señor. I just want to help. Estoy ayundando, ¿de acuerdo?"

The rat must have understood, because it relaxed and took a few steps towards her, although it kept its eyes locked on the turtles, and not in a way that made her think the rat was looking for a snack. "Cute tortuguitas, aren't they, Señor?" She lifted her hand and gently lifted the fourth turtle from the can, causing the rat to stiffen again. "They're safe with me, Señor. Lo prometo."

The rat just looked up at her before stepping closer, its gaze going back to the turtles. It still seemed to shy away from her, though. "Que está bien, Señor. You can come up here to see them if you want." She patted her knee. "Viene."

The rat glanced up at her again before leaping onto her knee, his gaze locked on the little turtles. The girl just smiled. "See, Señor, they're perfectly alright. You can trust me. After all, before I ran away from home due to my padre being a drunk and my madre not carrying about anything other than herself, the name 'Engracia Morales' had come to mean that if someone had a problem with their pet, they would come to me."

The rat looked up at her again, and then glanced at the open grate through which the turtles had fallen. Engracia did the same, and noticed that it seemed to be beginning to get dark out. "Guess I had better find somewhere to sleep, eh, Señor? After all, I'll have to go back up for food tomorrow morning."

The rat looked at her with an expression that Engracia somehow knew was pity before he leapt off her knee and started down the sewer tunnel, pausing when she didn't immediately follow.

"You have a place I can stay?" Engracia asked, surprised. "Gracias, Señor!" Carefully cradling the four turtles in her arms, she jogged after the rat. They had gone down a few tunnels when a dizzy spell struck. Engracia paused, leaning against the wall. The rat was quick to return to her feet, gazing up in what she could only describe as worry. "I'm alright, Señor. Just need to remember to actually get something to eat tomorrow."

Belatedly, she noticed that the ooze had covered her hands when she had scooped the turtles up off the sewer floor, and as much, it had gotten on her jacket. "Oh, that's probably not going to want to come off, is it, Señor?" With a sigh, Engracia pushed away from the wall, following the rat again at a slower pace than before.

When the rat stopped, Engracia took a look around. Noticing a manhole on just the other side of the sewer, she placed the turtles in the rat's burrow; feeling assured that he would protect them. "Keep an eye on the tortuguitas, would you, Señor? I'm going to go see where that manhole comes out." Moving fast so that she didn't spend a prolonged amount of time in the sewer waters themselves, Engracia looked back to the rat's burrow before climbing up the ladder.

She was in luck for once. The manhole came out next to a small grocery store in the poorer part of town, so even with the state of her clothes, she wouldn't stick out. And she still had several dollars left from the old wallet she had found dumpster diving.

Pushing open the door, Engracia bought a small loaf of bread, a small amount of raw fish, and a bag of salad. And after considering it, she also grabbed a bottle of Gatorade for herself and two bottles of water for the turtles and the rat. After paying for everything, she only had one or two bucks left, but what she had gotten would be enough for a few days, or at least she hoped so.

After glancing around to make sure nobody was around, Engracia pulled the manhole cover up again. Closing it was even harder this time due to the two bags she carried, but she managed. Quickly scampering down the ladder, she hurried back across to the rat's burrow. "Señor, I'm back. I brought some food and water, too." Grateful that she had also thought to grab a package of wipes, Engracia tore some of the fish into small pieces and placed it in front of the baby turtles. "Sorry, pequeñitos, but this was the best I could do."

The turtles don't seem to really care that the fish wasn't perfect, and Engracia watched with a smile as they gobbled down the food, noting that they all seem to have developed personalities. The biggest of them was also the most aggressive, but it was the second smallest that ate his portion of the fish the fastest. The smallest ate slowly, and the second biggest just ignored the second smallest and the biggest as they squabbled over a piece of the fish.

With a small giggle, Engracia tore up some more fish before wiping her hands on a wipe and opened the bag of bread. Tearing the end slice in half, she gave one piece to the rat and popped the other half into her mouth.

After a swig of the Gatorade and making sure each of the turtle had had a drink of water and a quick rub down, she filled a small steel dish she had found with some water for the rat and curled up on the floor under the rat's nest. As she waits for sleep to come, a soft thud on her stomach caused her to raise her head and see that the smallest of the turtles had fallen from the burrow and seems perfectly content to on her arm curled up against her side.

With a smile, Engracia cradled the the turtle so that he wouldn't get squashed if she rolled over, and then she let herself drift to sleep with absolutely no idea how different her life would become in the morning.

**-TMNT-TMNT-TMNT-**

**E/N: Hopefully Engracia doesn't seem Mary Sue-ish to any of you, the readers. I promise that there will be less focus on her in the future; the plan kinda is to rewrite the series as I think it would have gone if the turtles had a mother with the main point of view coming from said mother. **

**Spanish translations:**

¡Oh, pobre bebés! - Oh, poor babies!  
Señor- Mister  
Estoy ayundando, ¿de acuerdo? - I'm helping, alright?  
Tortuguitas- Little turtles  
Lo prometo- I promise  
Que está bien- It's okay  
Viene- Come (formal you form)  
Gracias- Thank you  
Pequeñitos- Little ones


	2. Chapter 2

**SUMMARY: **AU. What if Splinter hadn't been the only lonely soul wandering the sewers that day? After a teenage runaway with a love of animals and some street fighting skill gets caught up in the world of mutants, she finds herself becoming a mother figure for the boys. After all, how much trouble can four ninja turtles cause?

**RATING: **T.

_DISCLAIMER: IF I OWNED TMNT, THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN A LOT MORE FOCUS ON THE SIBLING BONDS. _

**A/N: I know that there was a lot revealed in the first chapter about Engracia, but she had run away from home and was lonely. Therefore, she told Splinter all that she did out of a want for companionship. Also, this is from her point of view (3****rd**** person limited, because I suck at 1****st**** person point of view), so her back-story does get told rather early on. Besides, this isn't about her exactly, it's about how she sees and affects the turtles' lives. Hopefully I can do that without making her seem too Mary Sue-ish for you guys. **

**-TMNT-TMNT-TMNT-**

Something rolling over on her stomach woke Engracia up. Blearily opening one eye, she was startled to full alertness by what she saw. The little turtle that had slept next to her that night had doubled in size, brown eyes gazing at her with interest. "¿Qué?"

The turtle made a chirping sound as he nuzzled her arm. She just blinked. "How did you get so big, pequeñito?"

The turtle just chirped again, causing her to frown as she remembered a neighbor's pet turtle. "And how are you making that sound, tortuguita? Last I knew, the only sound tortugas could make was a hissing sound."

With another chirp, the turtle nuzzled her arm again, reminding Engracia of the mothers holding their babies in her old neighborhood. She cradled him carefully as she climbed to her feet, not terribly surprised to see that the other three turtles had also grown, even if they were still fast asleep. The rat had grown too. If Engracia had to guess, she'd say that the rat was now around four feet tall if he stood on his hind legs. "Señor," she whispered, not wanting to walk up the other turtles. "Señor, wake up."

The rat blearily lifted his head, startled by the sight of Engracia holding the turtle that was now nearly the size of a full grown red-eared slider. Engracia could know easily see intelligence in the rat's face, and part of her mind wondered if he could know speak. "The tortuguitas grew, Señor. You did too."

The rat glanced down at his paws, and backed up a little upon noticing that he was known as big as a human child. He looked back up and Engracia before looking over to where the three turtles still slept. "A miracle," he whispered, not seeming to notice that he was capable of speech.

Engracia did notice, however. "Señor, you can talk! Wow…" Her voice had been louder than she meant it to be, though, and she accidentally woke up the sleeping turtles. All three chirped at her with a hint of annoyance. "Sorry, niños. I didn't mean to wake you." She set the turtle that had slept with her next to the others, noticing that although he had been the smallest the night before, he was now the biggest, but not by much. The aggressive one was second biggest now, but Engracia wouldn't be surprised if in the future he was the biggest.

She could also see that the turtles all had slightly different skin tones. The biggest one was a plain green color while the aggressive one was the darkest green. The turtle who had been the second smallest last night was now the smallest and his skin held a blue undertone to the green coloring, while the second smallest had a yellow tint to olive green skin. "You know, you four are cute, aren't you, pequeñitos?"

"Yes, but I do not think my burrow is going to be big enough for them now," the rat said with a chuckle, causing Engracia to blush slightly. She had gotten so caught up with the turtles that she had forgotten about him.

"You're right, Señor," she said, pushing her embarrassment aside for another time. Engracia then frowned as a thought came to her. "Erm, do you have a name, Señor? After all, I can't exactly keep referring to you as 'the rat', can I?" She blushed again.

"You may call me Splinter, Miss Morales," the rat, Splinter, said. "Now, we must find a place for the young ones to be safe. Other humans would likely not be accepting of them."

"Or of you, Señor Splinter," Engracia said. She began packing up the food into her bag, but paused upon picking up the fish. Splinter noticed her look of uncertainty.

"Miss Morales, are you alright?"

"Sí, it's just… I didn't expect this to happen, Señor. And I'm not sure feeding the tortuguitas raw fish is the best idea now," Engracia explained. "They seem so much like human niños now. What if it makes them sick?"

"You must do what you think is right, Miss Morales," Splinter said. "I do not know what feeding them the raw fish would do to them, but I also do not know what the ooze has done."

Engracia nodded before tossing the fish into the sewer waters. "I still have the bread I bought, and the bag of salad. We'll probably need more water before long, but I have my Gatorade to drink, and I only opened one bottle last night, and that's still over half full."

"If we need to get more we will, Miss Morales," Splinter said. "But now we must move."

"Sí, Señor," Engracia said. "Vienen, pequeñitos." She and Splinter started down the sewer tunnel, the turtles following obediently.

They had been walking for maybe an hour when Engracia felt something bump her ankle. She stops and looked down to see that the smallest of the turtles was standing there, looking up at her with a pleading look. "¿Qué? Do you want to be carried, pequeñito?"

The turtle chirped happily, nuzzling her ankle again. Engracia just sighed before scooping him up. "You're going to be el bebé, aren't you, hombrecito? The one who insists upon getting special rights, eh, niño?" The turtle chirped as if in agreement. She giggled. "Alright, but don't think I'm going to spoil you completely, hombrecito. Your hermanos need their turns with me too, you know."

"What is it that you are speaking, Miss Morales?" Splinter asked. "I know English and Japanese, but not the language you keep mixing in when you talk."

"It's Espanol," Engracia said. "Spanish. If you'd like, I can teach you it at some point."

"That will not be necessary, Miss Morales," Splinter said kindly. "But when they have gotten older, it may be wise to teach them at least the basics."

Engracia just nodded, a feeling of nervousness overwhelming her. She had completely forgotten for a moment that the turtles were still babies, and as such, they still had a bit of growing up to do.

"¿Lo que me he metido?"

**-TMNT-TMNT-TMNT-**

**E/N: Engracia knows about animals, but not so much children. Oh, and I promise Splinter will play a bigger role in future chapters, but I have to get used to writing him first.**

¿Qué?- What?  
Tortuga- Turtle  
Niños- Children  
Sí- Yes  
Vienen- Come (you plural form)  
El bebé- The baby  
Hombrecito- Little man  
Niño- Child  
Hermanos- Brothers, siblings  
¿Lo que me he metido?- What have I gotten myself into?


	3. Chapter 3

**SUMMARY: **AU. What if Splinter hadn't been the only lonely soul wandering the sewers that day? After a teenage runaway with a love of animals and some street fighting skill gets caught up in the world of mutants, she finds herself becoming a mother figure for the boys. After all, how much trouble can four ninja turtles cause?

**RATING: **T.

_DISCLAIMER: IF I OWNED TMNT, THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN A LOT MORE FOCUS ON THE SIBLING BONDS. _

**A/N: Time for the guys to get their names… And, no, **_Famous Artists of the Renaissance _**is not a real book. I checked.**

**-TMNT-TMNT-TMNT-**

"You know, Señor, the tortuguitas need names," Engracia commented a week later as she and Splinter watched them sleep. The thought had occurred to her as she watched them while Splinter got some more supplies from the surface, being reluctant to go up top herself due to the fact that they were getting in the area that she grown up in. Splinter as possessed stealth she lacked, but she wasn't taking that into consideration.

"Yes, that has occurred to me as well, Miss Morales," Splinter said. He held a book out to her. "I found this while out tonight. Perhaps we can find names for them within its pages."

"_Famous Artists of the Renaissance_," Engracia read. She smiled. "Sounds good to me. Now, let's see…" Turning the pages, she wasn't surprised by the first name she stumbled upon. "_Leonardo da Vinci. Probably the best known of the Renaissance artists, he was interested in a variety of different things, such as inventing and human biology._" She looked to the biggest turtle, the one who had slept with her the first night. Both she and Splinter figured that he was probably the oldest of the turtles, as well. "Leonardo."

Splinter nodded in agreement, taking the book. "_Michelangelo, a sculptor and painter. He is famous for his painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel._" Both of them looked to the smallest turtle, the one who had gotten Engracia to carry him. "Michelangelo," they said in unison, remembering the mess the turtle had made with some old, not quite empty, paint cans.

Engracia accepted the book back. "_Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi, also known as Donatello, was a fifteenth century artist and sculptor from Italy, known in part for his in bas-relief, which used fifteenth century understanding of perspectival illusionism_." Both glanced at the second smallest of the turtles. He had been the first to try walking on two feet, and the turtle had been fascinated by his reflection in a puddle just earlier that day. "I'd say we go with Donatello rather the guy's real name for him."

"Agreed," Splinter said. "And for the last of them?"

Engracia frowned as she flipped through the pages. She paused, flipping back to a name she had skimmed over. "What about Raphael, Señor? He seems like a Raphael to me."

Splinter raised an eyebrow. "Another expression, Miss Morales?"

Engracia smiled sheepishly. "Sí, Señor. But what do you think of the name? ¿Bueno?"

"It is acceptable," Splinter said. "But now you should get to sleep, Miss Morales. I know that they did not allow you to rest at all while I was gone."

"If you insist, Señor," Engracia said. As had become customary, she curled up next to the turtles, who quickly positioned themselves against her, soaking up the heat she gave off. "Buenas noches, niños, Señor Splinter." She quickly drifted off to sleep.

-TMNT-

The next few days seemed to pass in a blur for Engracia. They were moving to another clearing in the sewers when it happened. Splinter was leading the group with Engracia bringing up the rear when Donatello looked up. "Splinter?" Although it was spoken haltingly, it was enough to cause both to freeze.

Engracia just stared at Donatello in shock. She had absolutely no idea how to react to that. When she had noticed that the turtles and Splinter had mutated, her focus on the turtles had prevented her from freaking out because it distracted her while she processed the creation of a talking rat and four turtles that seemed to be about the equivalent of human one year olds, but now there was nothing to distract her. "He… Don… ¡Donatello acaba de hablar!" She stumbled backwards in shock. "Yo no se inscribió para este..."

"Miss Morales?" Splinter asked. "Are you alright?"

"I will be, I just, just have to take this in…" Engracia said before leaning against the sewer wall. "Just, just need to, to wrap my mind around this… Su mente debe ser equivalente a la de los humanos dos años de edad." After a moment or two, she climbed to her feet. "Alright, I'm bueno, Señor."

Splinter raised an eyebrow but continued on down the tunnel, the turtles and still shocked Engracia following, the latter in an almost robotic fashion.

-TMNT-

Later that night, Engracia felt she had finally wrapped her mind around the boys talking. Still, part of her was in steadfast denial. After all, they were two week old turtles, they _shouldn't _be talking. But, the other part of her argued, they were the size of toddlers, and seemed to have a similar mentality. Plus, she hadn't freaked out like this when Splinter started talking, so why was she doing it now?

Engracia knew the answer to that question as soon as she asked herself it; they were two weeks old, and if their current relative growth rate held, they would be adults in… No, she told herself.

Pushing these thoughts from her mind, she walked over to where the turtles were getting ready for bed. "Hey, pequeñitos, how would you like a lullaby?"

Michelangelo chirped his agreement of the idea, the others chiming in after their littlest brother. To her faint amusement, Raphael seemed half-heartened about the idea. "Alright, here's an English one my abuela used to sing to me." Clearing her throat, Engracia began her song.

"_Who will draw a ring around the moon?  
Who will draw a line from star to star?  
Who will sing a penny's worth of song  
To tell them how in love we are?_

_I will draw a ring around the moon.  
I will draw a line from star to star.  
I will sing a penny's worth of song  
To tell them how in love we are."_

By the time she had finished, all of the turtles except for Leonardo had fallen asleep. "Buenas noches, tortuguita," Engracia said, since the biggest of the turtles was almost asleep himself.

Leonardo just yawned then snuggled into her arms. With a smile, Engracia decided to get some rest herself rather than waiting up for Splinter, since he said he would to be a while due to a delayed start.

So when Splinter returned, it was to the sight of Engracia fast asleep with the turtles curled in closer to her than they normally were.

**-TMNT-TMNT-TMNT-**

**E/N: There. Yes, my excuse for why she didn't freak out was because she was too focused on the turtles and Splinter themselves rather than their mutation. And of course Donnie had to be the first to speak! He's Donnie! And the song is actually one my mother sang to me, and I now use if my little sister has a nightmare.**

Bueno- Good  
Buenas Noches- Good night  
¡Donatello acaba de hablar!- Donatello just spoke!  
Yo no se inscribió para este- I did not sign up for this  
Su mente debe ser equivalente a la de los humanos dos años de edad- Their minds must be equivalent to that of human two year olds  
Abuela- Grandmother


	4. Chapter 4

**SUMMARY: **AU. What if Splinter hadn't been the only lonely soul wandering the sewers that day? After a teenage runaway with a love of animals and some street fighting skill gets caught up in the world of mutants, she finds herself becoming a mother figure for the boys. After all, how much trouble can four ninja turtles cause?

**RATING: **T.

_DISCLAIMER: IF I OWNED TMNT, THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN A LOT MORE FOCUS ON THE SIBLING BONDS. _

**A/N: Why is this idea so fun to write? Oh well. Bit of a time jump here. I have a thing for hurt/comfort and/or angst, so of course I'll be throwing some of that in here as this progresses. Just a forewarning. Besides, it's in the series.**

**-TMNT-TMNT-TMNT-**

_6 MONTHS LATER_

"Niños, stop all this running around when I'm in here cooking!" Engracia scolded. After coming across a perfectly good, well, perfectly _functional_ , camp-stove, the almost-eighteen year old had taken to making the meals rather than stealing them. After all, she was able to buy ingredients for less than a pre-cooked meal cost.

"Sorry," Michelangelo and Raphael said in unison before both scampered from the kitchen.

"Esos niños será la muerte de mí," Engracia muttered to herself with a shake of her head, unaware that she had been watched from the doorway, or that the eavesdropper had picked up a few words of Spanish.

-TMNT-

"Señor, I'm starting to worry about Leonardo," Engracia said as she and Splinter drank their respective nightly hot chocolate and green tea. "He's been acting strangely, and it's starting to worry me. I mean, I know he's not as…active…as his brothers Michelangelo and Raphael, but this is a bit too much. I mean, Michelangelo asked him to play tag tres veces hoy, and all three times Leonardo said no."

"Yes, I know what you mean," Splinter said. "His behavior has been unusual. I will speak to him about it tomorrow morning, Miss Morales."

"Gracias, Señor," Engracia said. Finishing off the rest of her hot chocolate, she got to her feet with a groan from that came from sitting still too long. "Buenas noches, Señor." After placing her cup in the kitchen, she headed to her sleeping quarters after one quick check on the turtles.

-TMNT-

She couldn't place what had woken her up; she just knew that something wasn't right. Donning her bathrobe and a pair of mismatched slippers, Engracia quietly made her way to where the turtles slept.

Once there, she could easily guess on what had pulled her from slumber. Although his brothers stayed fast asleep, Leonardo was tossing and turning whilst trapped in the throes of a nightmare.

"Pequeñito," she whispered, gently shaking his shoulder. "Despierta, tortuguita."

Leonardo woke up with a gasp, and before Engracia could fully process it, he had thrown himself into her arms. Quiet sobs shook his body as Engracia rubbed circles on his shell. "Shh, pequeñito. Te tengo a ti. Ahora estás a salvo. Shh."

Not wanting to wake the others, Engracia carefully stood and carried Leonardo back to her room. It wasn't the first time as nightmare had ended with one of the turtles there, and she knew in her heart that it wouldn't be the last. Still, this was only the second time it had been Leonardo. And he hadn't been nearly so shaken the first time.

"¿Qué le pasa, pequeñito?" Engracia asked quietly, pressing her lips to Leonardo's forehead.

To her surprise, he answered. "You were talking to yourself in the kitchen," he whispered. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, I swear, but Mikey had seen a cartoon about El Día de los Muertos, and, and…" He started sobbing again, burying himself in her bathrobe.

Engracia blinked, trying to remember what he was talking about. And what did the Day of the Dead have to do with-. "Oh, tortuguita… You heard what I said after I had to chase Raphael and Michelangelo out while cooking, didn't you?"

Leonardo nodded somewhat fearfully, lifting his head to look at her. Engracia shook her head lightly, smiling somewhat sadly at him. "I didn't really mean that, Leo." Part of her mind noted how easy it came to her to use the pet form of his name.

"But, but I heard you!" Leonardo protested.

"Because I said it," Engracia said, reminding herself that he was less than a year old, even if he seemed older. "But, sometimes, Leonardo, people say things they don't really mean. And in the kitchen that day; I didn't really mean it. Do you understand?"

"So, it was just a figure of speech?" Leonardo asked, brown eyes clearly displaying his confusion.

"Yes, pequeñito," Engracia said, smiling at him. "It's just a figure of speech. But why did this get so worked up? You've heard me say things before knowing I don't mean them. So what was different?"

Leonardo looked down. "Because you don't have to stay here."

"¿Qué?" Engracia asked, and her tone caused Leonardo to just start blurting everything out.

"You aren't like us. Sensei's told us how the humans couldn't accept us, but you are a human, so you could just leave any time you wanted, but I don't want to ever leave, because I like having you here. You're nice, and your singing is pretty, and you make me feel safe, and the others think so too, even if Raph won't admit it, and…"

"Whoa, whoa!" Engracia said, holding up both hands to cut Leonardo off so he could catch his breath. "Leonardo, I want, no, _need_ you to believe me when I say that I'm not going anywhere. I couldn't. You are mi hijo, parte de mi familia."

"Your… But that'd make you…" Leonardo said, recognizing the words as a few of the words as some of what he knew.

"Sí, caudillo," she said with a smile, kissing his forehead before flopping onto the bed, allowing Leonardo to shift and wiggle but not escape. "Now, how about we get back to sleep, vale?"

"I can't do that if you won't let me up," Leonardo said, wriggling about until he was lying with his head on Engracia's shoulder.

"Looks like you're just going to have to sleep here with me, then," Engracia said, yawning. "Buenas noches, Leo."

"…good night," Leonardo whispered back. "Mom."

**-TMNT-TMNT-TMNT-**

**E/N: Gah! Curse my fluff-loving streak that made me end this chapter like that! Oh, and before you look down at the list and don't find the nickname Engracia gave Leo, the translation of that isn't going to be revealed for…a while. Like, when I get to the season 4 adaption part. Sorry. If your curiosity is insatiable, feel free to look it up for yourself, but please, please, PLEASE, do NOT put the translation in your review. It's going to have a bit of a role to play when the meaning is revealed, and I don't want to spoil that for anyone.**

Esos niños será la muerte de mí- Those children will be the death of me  
Tres veces hoy- Three times today  
Despierta- Wake up  
Te tengo a ti. Ahora estás a salvo.- I've got you. You're safe now.  
¿Qué le pasa?- What's wrong?  
Mi hijo- My son  
Parte de mi familia- Part of my family  
Vale- Okay


End file.
